brother.”
“It’s a she, not a he.” Liv made a sour face. “You saw her. She drove the bike here.”
“The Terminatrix? What is she, like seven feet tall?” Tay guessed.
Liv laughed. “She talks like a Terminator, too. All she said to me in school was, ‘I’m Holly Glasscock. Your grandmother sent me. Come with me if you want to live.’ Then she shoved a helmet into my hands. I didn’t know what to do until the assistant head of house told me to go with her.”
“How long will this pain-in-the-assitude hang around?” Maddy asked. “I mean we have a lot to do. A bodyguard handcuffed to you could definitely slow things down.”
“We’ll find a way to get rid of her,” Tay said, “if we put our heads together.”
Liv grinned, and her friends grinned with her.
CHAPTER FIVE
Day 5—Wednesday
Holly carried summer clothes from her rented room in Salem to the van parked outside. She wasn’t surprised to find a crowd gathered on the street. Uncle Jim’s carpentry van had the name of the TV home remodeling show he hosted painted on its sides. Holly shifted the clothes to her left arm as she unlocked the van’s side doors and told the group, “There’s no filming today. We’re just moving some things. It’s private business.”
“We want to meet him,” an excited blonde said.
Returning to the house, Holly passed her brother Eric, and then met her uncle on the staircase. Ten years ago, Jim Glasscock promised to look after his dying brother’s family. He took his duties as father-substitute seriously, particularly for the boys. Holly suspected that Uncle Jim, with three daughters and a wife who didn’t draw breath as she talked, needed the male-bonding time as much as her brothers did. But Jim had been there for Holly, too, as he was today when she needed help moving. He and Eric would drive the van carrying most of her possessions from Salem back to her family’s home in Portsmouth while she and her younger brother Cameron went to Boston.
Holly told her uncle, “Your fan club’s waiting outside.”
He stopped and shook his head. “They’re not mine. They’re Eric’s. Come see.”
Holly reversed direction to stand beside Jim on the front porch. Sure enough, fans flocked around Eric, who smiled and oozed charmed but didn’t sign autographs. He made quick work of putting the box he held into the van, and then joined Holly on the porch while Uncle Jim went toward the street.
There’s no time like the present , Holly thought, steeling herself to approach Eric with an offer she thought he’d refuse. “Ricky, my, uh— What should she call Olivia?— my protectee is making a video. She wants you to play a part. It’s an attempt to rescue the kidnapped kids in Boston, and who knows? You might get some modeling jobs from it.”
Eric made a face. “Modeling! You know I hate that shit.”
“You’re going to turn up your nose at money?”
While Eric considered this incentive, Holly thought about his unlikely career track. He graduated from high school three years ago with no goal beyond playing guitar in a local band. Uncle Jim stepped in, making Eric his carpentry apprentice, training him on ordinary jobs unrelated to the television program. Then, one hot summer day, Jim needed extra hands for an impossible onscreen deadline. He called in Eric, whose glistening muscles caught a producer’s eye. Eric was signed for additional episodes. The TV exposure led to occasional modeling gigs.
“Nah.” Eric shook his head. “I’m supposed to work with Uncle Jim this week.”
“But this is important.” Holly told Eric what happened after Mrs. Smallwood offered her the bodyguard job. Olivia and two friends came in to describe their plans for videos and a concert. They asked Mrs. Smallwood to organize the concert. On the condition that Olivia would contribute only computer work at home, her grandmother agreed to help. Holly was tapped to recruit her brother for a lead role in the
“It’s a she, not a he.” Liv made a sour face. “You saw her. She drove the bike here.”
“The Terminatrix? What is she, like seven feet tall?” Tay guessed.
Liv laughed. “She talks like a Terminator, too. All she said to me in school was, ‘I’m Holly Glasscock. Your grandmother sent me. Come with me if you want to live.’ Then she shoved a helmet into my hands. I didn’t know what to do until the assistant head of house told me to go with her.”
“How long will this pain-in-the-assitude hang around?” Maddy asked. “I mean we have a lot to do. A bodyguard handcuffed to you could definitely slow things down.”
“We’ll find a way to get rid of her,” Tay said, “if we put our heads together.”
Liv grinned, and her friends grinned with her.
CHAPTER FIVE
Day 5—Wednesday
Holly carried summer clothes from her rented room in Salem to the van parked outside. She wasn’t surprised to find a crowd gathered on the street. Uncle Jim’s carpentry van had the name of the TV home remodeling show he hosted painted on its sides. Holly shifted the clothes to her left arm as she unlocked the van’s side doors and told the group, “There’s no filming today. We’re just moving some things. It’s private business.”
“We want to meet him,” an excited blonde said.
Returning to the house, Holly passed her brother Eric, and then met her uncle on the staircase. Ten years ago, Jim Glasscock promised to look after his dying brother’s family. He took his duties as father-substitute seriously, particularly for the boys. Holly suspected that Uncle Jim, with three daughters and a wife who didn’t draw breath as she talked, needed the male-bonding time as much as her brothers did. But Jim had been there for Holly, too, as he was today when she needed help moving. He and Eric would drive the van carrying most of her possessions from Salem back to her family’s home in Portsmouth while she and her younger brother Cameron went to Boston.
Holly told her uncle, “Your fan club’s waiting outside.”
He stopped and shook his head. “They’re not mine. They’re Eric’s. Come see.”
Holly reversed direction to stand beside Jim on the front porch. Sure enough, fans flocked around Eric, who smiled and oozed charmed but didn’t sign autographs. He made quick work of putting the box he held into the van, and then joined Holly on the porch while Uncle Jim went toward the street.
There’s no time like the present , Holly thought, steeling herself to approach Eric with an offer she thought he’d refuse. “Ricky, my, uh— What should she call Olivia?— my protectee is making a video. She wants you to play a part. It’s an attempt to rescue the kidnapped kids in Boston, and who knows? You might get some modeling jobs from it.”
Eric made a face. “Modeling! You know I hate that shit.”
“You’re going to turn up your nose at money?”
While Eric considered this incentive, Holly thought about his unlikely career track. He graduated from high school three years ago with no goal beyond playing guitar in a local band. Uncle Jim stepped in, making Eric his carpentry apprentice, training him on ordinary jobs unrelated to the television program. Then, one hot summer day, Jim needed extra hands for an impossible onscreen deadline. He called in Eric, whose glistening muscles caught a producer’s eye. Eric was signed for additional episodes. The TV exposure led to occasional modeling gigs.
“Nah.” Eric shook his head. “I’m supposed to work with Uncle Jim this week.”
“But this is important.” Holly told Eric what happened after Mrs. Smallwood offered her the bodyguard job. Olivia and two friends came in to describe their plans for videos and a concert. They asked Mrs. Smallwood to organize the concert. On the condition that Olivia would contribute only computer work at home, her grandmother agreed to help. Holly was tapped to recruit her brother for a lead role in the